A legislator looked at a bill, winched, looked at another legislator and said, ‘Well, if I don’t vote for it I guess I’ll land in a primary.’

‘You think,’ the second legislator said, ‘that Republicans in your district are for people carrying guns in bars?’ The bill allowed people carry guns in bars, restaurants and on college campuses (as long as the gun is in a locked box).

‘Looking at the emails I’m getting,’ the first legislator said, ‘I’d say they do.’

‘How many emails are you talking about?’

‘Over a hundred.’

‘And how many Republican voters are in your district?’

‘About 20,000.’

‘So, because you got a hundred emails, you think you’re hearing the voice of 20,000 Republicans saying they support people carrying pistols in bars?’

The first legislator bristled. ‘You think that’s wrong?’

‘I think if you want to know what voters think you should take a poll.’

The first legislator, his mind made up, scratched his head. ‘You ever try that?’

‘Yep.’

‘What did it show?’

‘It said Republican voters have more common sense than legislators give them credit for.’

8 comments on “Worrying About Primaries”

I know that your post here, Carter, is more about what our politicians do to remain in office than it is about the actual topic of “guns in bars”. But, I would like to speak to the “guns in bars” issue anyway.

I am a concealed carry holder and have been for a while now. People that are sanctioned to carry concealed weapons are NOT allowed to carry concealed handguns in bars and are ABSOLUTELY not allowed to have a concealed handgun on their person or anywhere else concealed (such as in a car glove box) if they are intoxicated. It’s NC law and, IMHO, it’s a good law. I served for eight years in the military and served a year in a war zone and have been to more military bases and NCO/officer’s clubs than I care to mention. Weapons on those bases and anywhere within the military complexes that serve alcohol is not allowed. It’s just good policy. If you’ve spent as much time around drunks as I have, you’d know why that is true. This is bad legislation. Current law is good law. No need to change it.

Polls don’t remove the primary threat. Carter, you should be well aware that poking a well organized group in the eye with a vote against them just encourages that group to recruit a primary challenger. Once the challenger gets in the race, they will assess the race and choose issues to run on, which may or may not include the issue that prompted the challenger to get in the race in the first place. In the example you gave, that vote might well prompt some 2nd Amendment groups to endorse the challenger, who will then be presented to the voters as the endorsed candidate who most strongly supports the 2nd Amendment. When it comes to broad issues like that in a primary, they can very well get traction and should worry an incumbent.